We knew Emma Gonzalez was amazing. But at the March for Our Lives rally, the teenager rewrote the script on powerful activism.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
At the start of her powerful, gut-wrenching speech on March 24, 2018, in Washington, D.C., Gonzalez stood in front of the massive crowd, tears streaming down her face, absolutely silent for 6 minutes and 20 seconds. The reason?
That's how long it took a 19-year-old gunman to go on a killing spree at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 students and staff.
"In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured, and everyone, absolutely every one in the Douglas community was forever altered," Gonzalez explained.
She went on to discuss the pain of going through such a traumatic experience.
"For us, long, tearful, chaotic hours in the scorching afternoon sun were spent not knowing," Gonzalez said. "No one understood the extent of what had happened. No one could believe that there were bodies in that building waiting to be identified for over a day. No one knew that the people who had gone missing had stopped breathing long before any of us had even known that a code red had been called. No one could comprehend the devastating aftermath or how far this would reach or where this would go."
And then, just in case those listening hadn't gotten her point yet, Gonzalez stated, "For those who still can’t comprehend, because they refuse to, I’ll tell you where it went: right into the ground, six feet deep.”
Gonzalez continued her speech by talking about the everyday things her fallen classmates would never be able to do, such as calling their friends, playing basketball, or walking to school with a sibling.
She wrapped up with a devastating description of the shooter's actions and a call to action for the audience.
"Fight for your lives before it's someone else's job," she asserted.
Let's fight alongside her and others to make change happen, too.
Read more on the March for Our Lives with stories on D.C. student Zion Kelly’s speech on losing his twin to gun violence, outstanding protest signs, photos from around the country, and moving words from little kids.And if you want to support the anti-gun-violence movement, we have a quiz for the best way you can help.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."